


The Fifth.

by expecto_pastrami



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: ASL, Alternate Timeline, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mostly Mute Frisk, Not Beta Read, Past Child Abuse, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-05-12 13:57:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5668486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/expecto_pastrami/pseuds/expecto_pastrami
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frisk wakes up after a reset they don't remember initiating. A few moments later, it's clear something isn't as it should be, because instead of a fireball knocking aside Flowey, a rusty frypan flies through the air.</p><p>How much will change from the alteration of a single variable?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Fifth.

**Author's Note:**

> Undertale, and all the characters therein is the property of toby fox. If you didn't know that, WHY ARE YOU READING THIS? GO PLAY THE GAME FIRST.
> 
> Who would not, finding way, break loose from hell... And boldly venture to whatever place, farthest from pain?  
> John Milton, Paradise Lost (1667; 1674), Book IV, line 889.

Frisk rubbed their mouth with their hand, a ringing noise in their ears waking them slowly. Their eyes felt gummed shut, and they barely had the energy to drag himself upright to walk through the first passageway, rubbing the familiar arch with a hand.

 

As soon as they were through, they heard the familiar noise of Flowey's beginning speech.

 

"Howdy! I'm Flowey. Flowey the flower!" the evil noxious weed said.

 

Frisk groaned, and pulled himself up, trying to work out what had happened. A reset? They hadn't remembered resetting.. but maybe something really bad and sudden had happened. "Hmm… You're new to the Underground, Aren'tcha?" Flowey didn't recognize them? what...  Sans had said something once about a true reset… while Flowey went through his usual monologue, they got ready to dodge the "friendliness-pellets" that the flower put out, preparing himself for the alphabet of pain that was promised to come- and hoping that things stayed as before.

 

"Hey, jerkface!"

 

A voice they'd never heard before- pretty, despite the aggressive tone, echoed down the hall, ringing in his ears and shattering his focus on what would happen next- Instead of the usual fireball knocking Flowey aside, what came was a flung frying pan, which smacked against the flower's stem, a clang sound echoing down the hall despite the soulless being's small frame. The flower cursed as he vanished underground.

 

Frisk's brain short circuited as they tried to work out what was going on, blinking rapidly as they stared into the dark corridor. A figure in an apron emblazoned with the usual delta rune walked forward.

 

She was human.

 

Frisk's normally slitted eyes widened- he'd reset a few times, and had even true-reset once after Toriel had-... well,they didn't want to think about it. Those thoughts were bad enough at night.

 

The gore and the blood would stain their memory forever. But… there were more pressing questions right now.

 

_Where was Toriel?_

 

They pushed the memory away as they stared at the human. She was older than him (well, than their age in *this* timeline,) by a good few years. Her apron was slightly stained with what appeared to be butterscotch residue. She walked over to pick up the frying pan.

 

"Are you alright? I'm sorry about that.they was a real meanie head to you. I'm Meillion. You must have fallen down from Mount Ebbot, right? You'll be okay. I'll take you somewhere safe."

 

Frisk nodded, their mind spinning. In all their resets, the first few minutes of their time underground never deviated, unless they forced the issue.they was not prepared for this, nearly tripping on the stairs as they made their way to the first puzzle.

 

Meillion smiled to him. "Want to try this? It's a puzzle- you're going to have to solve a lot of these if you want to get around the ruins. Each puzzle will block the next room, and can usually only be solved in one way- but there are usually clues." she points to the sign on the wall.

 

 

 __Only the fearless may proceed._ _  
_Brave ones, foolish ones._ __  
_Both walk not the middle road._ __  


 

 

Frisk blinked, and nodded. They made a show of reading the sign on the wall, and examining the sequence of buttons, but they already new the solution- he'd just never been given the opportunity to solve it before.they stepped on the four stones that were not on the marked path through the middle, then pulling the lever to open the door, their actions gaining them a large smile from the strange human.

 

"Well done!" she said, seeming not to notice- or at least not commenting, on their lack of speech, giving him a little pat on the shoulder as she said. "C'mon. There are a few more up ahead. Toriel has marked this one, but I think you'll be able to solve these just fine on your own… actually… hang on. I should call her to let her know I found someone. She usually does this round herself, but she's been in a baking mood the last few days and went out to gather some supplies."

 

Frisk's head swam, giddy with relief at hearing that their mom was okay- well, they'd been calling her mom for a very long time anyway. They watched her pull out a cell phone that was achingly familiar- they'd carried that very phone a long way. How had… who was this- a memory flashed through their  mind, of a burnt frying pan like the one Meillion had attached to her hip, and a stained apron- not *this* apron, but a similar one, that had brought him comfort through Hotland.

 

"Mother, hello! I found a human! ... yes, he… she… _they_ appear to be about ten… yes, I'm bringing them right home… no, I can do it mother, really." she scowled, rubbing her left arm gently, a nasty circular scar visible near the wrist there. "They seem nice, mother. Please don't worry. I can take care of it."

 

Frisk listened. Their heart ached a little at hearing someone else call Toriel mom, but… they couldn't find it in them to be too jealous- knowing that Toriel had this person with her meant she wouldn't be quite as lonely. -Meillion- Frisk finger signed to themself, then touched an M-finger sign to their heart, giving her a namesign. The girl- she was only at most fifteen- turned to look just in time to catch the sign, her eyes widening as she smiled.

 

-You deaf you?- she signed. causing Frisk's eyebrows to hit their hairline, nearly. Talking was very hard for them- a few words at most were all they could get out, and even those were a great effort. Because of this, they'd never been able to communicate with the people in the underworld, at least, not at first. Someone else signing… this could change things… they were lost for a moment in the possibilities. So much so that they didn't answer her until she waved her hands in front of their eyes.

 

They shook their head, bringing a closed fist with thumb out up to their lips- not exactly true, but… she nodded. "Would you rather I signed or spoke?" Frisk smiled, and pointed to himself, palm touched their chest, middle finger and thumb pinching away in the air, pointed to their ear, pointed to Meillion, then dragging index and middle finger out in a 'v' shape from their throat. -I like hearing your voice-

 

She blushed. "Thank you." she said, hands covering her face as she smiled. "What's your name?"

 

Frisk finger spelled the name, then paused- would their name sign mean anything to Meillion? They omitted it. She seemed to watch his fingers for a few seconds after they signed their name, but smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Frisk. I'm Meillion." she

 

The two walked on. A froggit attacked Frisk, pulling his soul forward to react, magic flying for a few seconds before Frisk complimented the froggit in a crude pantomime, causing the monster to blush before Meillion scolded him away. Frisk used the time trudging through the familiar puzzles to think, getting to solve them themselves for the first time. Well- They knew them from when Toriel walked them through them, but…

 

Frisk shuddered, closing his eyes for a moment as his eyes fell on the black tree in front of them. Seeing it again, and the front of Toriel's house, made so many memories flash back to their mind- The bright red, psychotic eyes that belonged to Chara. Tattered fabric on Toriel's dress, blood bleeding through.

 

He shook it away, pushing all the memories down, and Meillion smiled, patting your arm. "Don't worry about it, Frisk. You did good against the Froggit back there. Very good 'conflict resolution skills' as Toriel is always telling me to brush up on. Monsters can be… fast to engage with you, but if you show them you mean well, you'll see."

 

Frisk managed a smile, and you both walk towards the house- A second later, you hear large feet padding hard on the path behind you. You turn, and have to stifle the urge to run *hard* back towards the monster who had become your mother, renegade tears filling your eyes, traitorously threatening to spill down your cheeks.

 

"Meillion! Oh, hello there, young one." she smiles, walking up to kneel down in front of you, her finger brushing over the bandage on your forehead as usual. "I am Toriel. I assume Meillion has already told you about me?"

 

Meillion nods, "They look about done in." she says, and Tori smiles, standing to hug the human beside you, who returns the gesture warmly. "Very well done, daughter, I am proud of you." She motions you to the front door. "Come. I am glad to see you both made it from the flower patch."

 

Meillion walks in beside the smaller child, gently pulling them back just a little, signing to you behind Toriel's back.-why sad you-? she asked, a sad and concerned look on her face as her hands moved down from eyes to chest.

 

Frisk just shook their head a little, quickly swiping at their eyes. The truth is, you had thought you were done meeting Toriel for the first time. They looked up at Meillion and just shook their heads, chest shaking a little with uncried sobs, -can't- they sign, tapping one index finger with another. She nodded a bit, squeezing his shoulder.

 

"Mom? I'm going to put Frisk to bed. He's had a really long day and he's not feeling up for very much." Her words caused Toriel to turn, her smile disappearing as she padded quickly over to Frisk, wrapping them in a hug as her own eyes closed, causing the silent sobs to turn into a terrible, broken sound in the child's throat.

 

She just held them tighter, picking them up and carrying them right to bed in the room they'd known so long- except not to the bed they usually thought of as his, but the one opposite it- for a second they tried to struggle away, but relented as large, strong hands tucked them in to the bed, and a feeling so familiar and comforting as her fingers stroking his hair undid them, crying harder than they had since before the barrier was down in the last timeline.

 

Toriel looked up to the young girl, who shrugged helplessly, and just made soft shushing noises as she sat on the bed, stroking Frisk's hair until the tears finally petered out.

 

* * *

 

They left them alone after that. Frisk lay in bed, curled up on themselves, eyes closed, for what felt like an eternity. Sleep wouldn't come, despite the exhaustion.

 

Could they tell Toriel? Should they? What would happen? They'd never been in the position to have a long conversation with their mother this early in the timeline. Then there was Meillion's presence. She must have been one of the six.

 

That meant that Da- that Asgore, only had five souls.

 

That meant they wouldn't be getting out any time soon- not unless… but no, they refused to contemplate that. Memories of kind eyes and a warm human hand on his shoulder pushed that thought out of their heads.

 

They couldn't think. They needed advice, but the only person they could think to ask was on the other side of a one way door. And there was no guarantee that sans would remember, either- the last time they'd done a true reset... well, they weren't clear how much sans *actually* remembered, but ...this was different from that, too.

 

There had never been a *new* person in the timeline.

 

Where had they ended up?

 

Could they tell Toriel? Should they? What would happen? They'd never been in a position to have a long conversation with their mother this early in the timeline…

 

Their thoughts repeated again and again as they laid there, staring at the wall.

 

...Who was Meillion?...

 

They gave a silent sigh and pulled themselves out of bed. Whatever the answers were, they wouldn't be found in here.

 

Toriel had managed to sneak a slice of pie into the room, bringing a smile to Frisk's lips, the smell filling him with warm memories, and determination. At least some things never changed. They picked it up, wrapping it up carefully and placing it in one of their large pockets.

 

TIme to come clean.

 

* * *

 

 

-need talk you both-

 

Meillion nodded. "They want to talk to us." She translated, smiling to Frisk and beckoning them further in the living room. Two chairs were placed in front of the fire. The two had been talking in hushed tones, but Frisk hadn't been able to overhear what they were saying before being detected.

 

Frisk signed, and Meillion interpreted. "First off… This is going to be hard to explain, and even harder to believe. It's going to sound pretty crazy when I first start talking, but please, let me finish explaining before you ask any questions… is that okay?" Meillion smiled. "Well, it's okay with me, Frisk." Toriel smiled, nodding and motioning for them to continue.

 

Frisk smiled, and continued. "First…" They paused, trying to decide how to continue. "I... know some things that might be a surprise to you. I know about the barrier. I know the story of how monsters came to be trapped under Mount Ebbot… but I know about the Underground, too. I know about King Asgore's plan-" a gasp escaped Toriel, her eyes widening, the boss monster standing out of her chair.

 

"How can you… child, Frisk, how can you know that name, let alone what he plans?" She paused, Frisk's face pained. "I'm sorry… I'll… let you explain." She sat back down, her face more intent than Frisk had seen it in some time.

 

"I know these things, and a few more things- like that you used to be Queen, that you had two children, once, one adopted, one your own…" They swallowed. "That they both… died, a long time ago. I know these things because you told me about them. In the future. I am a time traveller."

 

A look of incredulity spread across both their faces. "I can.. prove it. Sort of. I could ask you both questions that I couldn't answer, and go back a bit and tell you the answers first, but… I'd rather not. I can at least tell you about someone who can confirm it… Toriel, do you sometimes sit by the door in the basement and tell bad jokes to someone on the other side?"

 

Toriel's look softened, a smile crossing her lips. "Yes… I'm meant to go down there to talk to him in a little while, actually."

 

"His name is Sans. He sometimes… remembers things. I know his brother's phone number. I think I can get him to put his brother on."

 

* * *

 

"HELLO. IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS! I DO NOT RECOGNIZE YOUR PHONE NUMBER, BUT IT IS OBVIOUS YOU ARE TALKING TO THE RIGHT PERSON. WHO IS THIS?"

 

"Hello, Papyrus! I've hears a lot about you! I-"

 

"OF COURSE YOU HAVE! I'M SURE MOST PEOPLE HAVE. NOW. HOW CAN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HELP YOU THIS FINE DAY?"

 

"Well, Papyrus, I need your help. I entered into a bad joke competition recently. I tell some really awful jokes, and I feel sure I can win… but…"

 

"OH! YOU SHOULD TALK TO MY BROTHER. HE TELLS BAD JOKES ALL THE TIME."

 

"Well, I'm fairly confident in my bad joke material, but... I don't do so well with puns, and there's a pun-off. I'm feeling a little less confident about puns."

 

"THEN YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY TALK TO MY BROTHER. HANG ON, I WILL CHECK TO SEE IF HE IS HERE. ONE MOMENT...  SANS… SANS! I NEED YOU TO COME TELL SOME PUNS!"

 

Frisk shivered as he heard a door creak open and a voice on the other end of the phone,

 

"i'm really not in the mood today, paps, what's up?"

 

"WELL, THAT'S A FIRST. THERE'S SOMEONE WHO CALLED ME FOR HELP WITH BAD PUNS FOR A JOKE COMPETITION, AND-"

 

"well, why didn't you say something? gimmie the phone, bro, i'll get it back to you later. i know you don't want to hear more puns."

 

"FOR ONCE, YOU SAID SOMETHING ABSOLUTELY TRUE. HERE YOU GO, MY BROTHER WILL HELP YOU."

 

A few moments later.

 

"alright- who is this? why are you calling my brother?" Sans' voice had a dangerous edge.

 

"I'm to inform you that… Really? Must I? Fine. I'm to inform you that 'I'm the legendary fartmaster'. I'm sorry, I'm just interpreting for a friend who can't use their voice. He also says, "I don't remember resetting. I'm sorry, I never would have without talking to you first."

 

" * …

 

"Hello?"

**Author's Note:**

> End of Chapter one.
> 
> This is the first time I've tried my hand at fanfic that isn't a one-shot for a while- and the first time I've really felt like writing in *years*. I'm not positive where this is going, I'm not positive that I'll manage to keep enthusiastic about this project, but what I definitely know is that constructive comments will help. 
> 
> Frisk speaks in ASL. The motioned signs that I describe are hopefully accurate. When I transcribe ASL directly, I'll put it between dashes, and will retain the grammatical structure of ASL. (ASL doesn't correspond to English, it has a completely different grammar.) My own recollection of ASL is a little hazy- but I'll do my best. Please let me know what you think.
> 
> If you see a mistake, error, or flub in the above text, or if you have any other comments about the writing, please leave a comment- I don't have a beta reader at present, so if you're interested in that- drop me a line.
> 
> Most importantly- tell me YOUR ideas for what comes next, if you want me to write them.


End file.
